Night in the NICU
by ronniekins77
Summary: Neela finds Ray with the baby in the NICU. Missing moment from 12:2 - Nobody's Baby. Written during season 12 of the show.


"Has _anyone_ seen Ray?" Neela asked irritably. Once again, everyone shook their heads no. "Oh, bollocks!"

Sam came into view. "Looking for Ray?" she said.

"Yeah. I know he's probably chatting up some nurse."

"Actually, he's upstairs," Sam said.

Neela nodded. "Is she blonde or brunette?"

Sam chuckled. "Neither."

Neela shook her head and walked as quickly as she could to the elevator. She was just so bloody exhausted. And just imagining Ray flirting with some random woman was making her slightly sick, too. She wished he would just pick one girl and stick with her.

_No you don't_, said a tiny voice in her head. She ignored the voice - it was getting quite annoying lately.

Neela stifled a yawn as the elevator doors opened. A quick scan around and she had found him.

She stood outside the door of the NICU and raised her eyebrows in surprise. He _wasn't_ chatting up a nurse. He was staring at a baby in an incubator. Neela stepped inside.

"Ray?"

He looked up as the sound of her voice registered, not giving her his usual cocky smile, and she saw that his eyes were sad and tired. He dropped his eyes back down to the baby and Neela crossed her arms over chest, slightly uncomfortable.

"They didn't want the baby," he said suddenly, his voice cracking.

Neela didn't know who 'they' were, but the fact that the baby was in an incubator hinted that something was wrong with it. She put the pieces together. She found a chair and pulled it next to Ray, then sat down. "It's not your fault," she said firmly.

Ray didn't seem convinced. "I told her to do the C-section, but she didn't listen." He let out a deep breath, and his shoulders shook. Neela had no idea what to say, so she said nothing.

Silence.

Neela leaned back in her chair and stared at the sleeping baby. His small chest rose up and down and Neela felt a small lump forming in the back of her throat.

She and Ray continued to just look at the baby for what seemed like forever. Then Ray straightened in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Clearing his throat he said, "You can go home if you want. I'm going to stay here. Little guy's had a rough day."

Neela allowed herself a tiny smile. She didn't want to admit it, but Ray was turning out to be a wonderful man. He matured a little every day, and she loved moments like this, when his sensitivity and put his arrogance to shame. "I'll stay," she said.

He turned to look at her and their eyes locked. She could see that he was surprised, but thankful for her being there. He nodded.

The baby stirred suddenly and Ray leaned forward and stuck his hand into the incubator. He rested it on the baby's stomach. Neela leaned forward as well, but looked again at Ray when he began to sing in a low voice. "Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna by you a mockingbird..."

Neela had never heard the song before, but she liked the way Ray made it sound. It was lovely, heartbreaking, and soothing. The baby responded to Ray's voice by latching on to his finger. "Hey," Ray said, his face lighting up. "Hey, little guy."

"Ah," said Neela. "A way the ladies _and_ the babies."

Ray laughed. "Yeah," he agreed, his voice becoming serious again. He went back to singing the baby.

The sound of his voice was so pleasant...Neela felt herself slipping away. She was so tired, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet. She wanted to stay awake with Ray and and the baby...maybe she'd have her own baby someday...she would definitely let Ray sing to it...

When Sam came in to check on the baby no one wanted the next morning, she smiled. The little boy's chest was still rising and falling peacefully. To her amazement, Ray was asleep, head resting against the incubator. As she moved closer, she saw that the baby was holding on to his finger. And Neela, in the chair next to Ray, had also fallen asleep. Her head rested on his shoulder, in what didn't really look like a very comfortable position.

But the three of them together certainly seemed like it was the way it should be. It looked oddly...right.

With a sigh, she reluctantly woke them up. 


End file.
